A leak detector is a complex machine made up of many interconnected elements. The main component elements of a leak detector are as follows: a primary pump unit, a secondary pump unit, a gas analyzer, and a set of valves and of pressure-measuring gauges.
These elements are interconnected via link segments.
The link segments that are currently used are corrugated tubes or the like that have very good intrinsic gastightness, and mechanical connection devices between said tubes and the component elements of the leak detector, which devices also offer good gastightness. However, it is necessary for the gastightness of the link segments to be tested thoroughly once they have been installed. Such testing is lengthy and considerably increases the time required for manufacturing leak detectors.
Furthermore, at least minimum distances between said component elements of the leak detector are necessary in order to enable the non-integral link segments to be installed. As a result, the compactness of such leak detectors is limited, and the performance of such a leak detector is limited by head loss in the non-integral link segments.
An object of the present invention is to provide a leak detector in which the number of non-integral link segments is reduced significantly, thereby making it possible to increase the reliability of the gastightness of the apparatus, as well as to reduce its head loss and thus to increase its performance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a leak detector whose compactness is improved considerably.
To these ends, the invention provides a leak detector comprising:
a primary pump unit;
a secondary pump unit having at least one secondary pump;
a gas analyzer;
a test module;
a calibration module;
a delivery module of the secondary pump unit; valves; and
link segments.
In the invention, the leak detector includes a one-piece main mounting block provided with spaces making it possible to integrate at least some of the component elements of the leak detector.
In the invention, the one-piece main mounting block is provided with at least:
a bore forming the casing for the stator of said secondary pump;
a space forming a casing for the gas analyzer;
bored ducts forming some of said link segments and some of the casings of said valves; and
block inlets and outlets making it possible to connect the integrated components to the other component elements of the leak detector.
In an embodiment of the invention, the secondary pump unit comprises a turbomolecular pump that has a stator casing constituted by a bore in said main mounting block.
The primary pump unit comprises a turbomolecular pump in series with a primary pump, said turbomolecular pump having a stator casing constituted by a bore in said main mounting block.
The main mounting block advantageously has a non-magnetic thin portion in which a space is provided for receiving the gas analyzer which is of the magnetic mass spectrometer type, the magnet of the mass spectrometer being integrated by straddling said thin portion.
In an embodiment of the invention, the leak detector includes:
a one-piece delivery block provided with:
bored ducts forming some of said link segments and some of the casings of said valves of the delivery module of the secondary pump unit; and
block inlets and outlets coming into register with the corresponding block outlets and inlets of the main block;
and/or
a one-piece test and calibration mounting block provided with:
bored ducts forming some of said link segments and some of the casings of said valves of the test module and of the calibration module; and
block inlets and outlets coming into register with the corresponding block outlets and inlets of the main block.
The one-piece mounting blocks may be made by any known means, in particular by machining or by molding.
A first advantage of the present invention results from the some or even all of the link segments being integrated in the one-piece mounting block(s).
Another advantage of the present invention, following on from the preceding advantage, results from the main component elements of the leak detector being integrated in bores or spaces provided for this purpose in the one-piece blocks, thereby considerably reducing the spaces between said elements, and thus increasing the compactness and the performance of the leak detector.